Picture frame



1952 LA VERNE J. WINSLOW 2,614,354

PICTURE FRAME Filed July 30, 1948 .54 View J MMSZOM I IN VEN TOR. L4

ENE)! Patented Oct. 21 1952 by 'whic hthe bac ji 'pe atq t e frame andthe subsequent disbmdeinfitbf the fpidtiife itQ'fQ it in place; a"prbteetmg it"in the "rxiahnerof the usum glass; The pmtedtih gfmembritsi'fffim tionqHy locked tqthe ibrward recent 'thefinjje back and 'isreadny disp ace to 'gernave rwe-ad cessity o f the 'rembv al of IA'nbtherobjeetfp' 'bicture frame unit gin em'ifcsn iwprpv effa r Iwhichwe' trbmpari tfbic; ture amtectingelememerigages trre'rorwa'ra-raeeiii the ba'ck *tb meme-we bfoteeteii pi'tu fe iiiiilae. v 'sti n motherbbjeet-bf the ifitiehtib'n is 1:6 pievifle aiiietu're frame un t inwhieh eemm o: the befiiihefa l' edges of the frame beware tehde'dinwardly to "engage am ta even-1e c'or: spondm': partiofis "thetransparent 13ibtT1f= brot'eet-i'hg element overlying it's" race andWhih is arsplaceab'le re'l'gtwe thereto by virtue er its inherentflexibility. I t'il' another abject of the inv ntion is wp'ret mebleitie "bi'etu're flame uz'iit 'mWm n the frame baek is'p rovid d alongits firi'pheial sides Withfrminded inwardly extending curve-a pottibnsextended inwardly in'tb retairiing relationshipwith a similarlye'cintoured everly n ransparent element m-splacea re; ubpn -'S1'iht-'distbi 'uzmpermittea py' its'o'wn'fiexibinw,

These'ahaomer' mere "acme objects will uppear upon reaa-mg "theljlowi'ng 's'peifieatitin an'a claims and 'u 'qn hamm ring incermectio'n therewith the attached drawing to "which they relate.

Rfr'riiig now to the drhwing which a prem the pi'vbtal mounting 'of the"'s'upp'drtin'g ar if ii'esir'e'dyor ether suitajb le mater-151, andamawith inwardly extehdedTminded cu'rvea woman's 12 whichhave-anappe'aranee'qs though theb'ak Y as to provide an overlappingrelationship to the fiat portion of the back. The remaining pair ofcurved portionsft2 need not be displaced to the same extent as they needonly function as abutments to prevent lateral displacement.

The picture to be protected is indicated in the drawing by the referencecharacter l4 and lies. flat against the recessed central flat portion ofthe back II. If its size be suitable the curved portions :2 may performa centering function therefor. To retain picture It against the back I Ithere is provided an overlying transparent protecting member cover It;the overall dimensions of which are less than those of the back II butits configuration preferably being the same. Transparent member Hi maybe formed of any suitable material so long as it is transparent andcharacterized by a .slight flexibility and. resilience. Certain types oftransparent thermoplasticserve admirably. As in the case of the back I lmember H5 is formed along its sides withrolled-in curved. portions H ofa general curvature and shape and so positioned as to extendadjacent thecurved portionsiz ofthe back. v T hose portions IT which lie adjacentthe locking overlapping curved portions i2 of the back, comprising thehorizontally spaced portions in the-embodiment illustratedand as clearlyshown in Figures 1 and 4, are curvedinwardly sunlciently as to extendunder the portions i2. Referenceto Figure 4 discloses thatone of theportions i? at the side of thetransparent member 1'5 fits snugly withinthe overlapping locking portion 52 while the opposite portion H iscontouredto a slightly lesser degree in order that it may'bedisplacedoutwardly from the back and past the curvature I2 by a slightdeflection. In the example illustrated the locking action takes place atthe twosides of the 'unit,the curved portions 12 and H at the top andbottom serving merely as abutment surfaces to center the cooperatingelements. However, the locking, relationship could also be repeated topand bottom, it being critical only that in each pair of apposed curvedportions the curvatures be such that one of the edges of member I6is'displaceable by an outward force upon a slight defleo tion of itscurved portion ll. Curved portions i'l of thetransparent member it canbe formed in the manner of the portions 12 upon the back I, if desired,or they may be molded in place.

The exact curvature and displacement of the curved portions 52 and F isnotcritical so lon as thetransparent member 16 has sufiicient extent asto enablethe curved portions l'lto extend under the adjacent curvedportions" 12 of the back H, and further so long as atleast one of thecurved portions ll of each apposed pair is displaceable from theadjacent overlying'curved portion izunder which it extends. Thisdisplacementis possible primarily because of the flexibility of l. thetransparent member is but the flexibilityof the portion l2'of the back II also isa factor which may bev used if desired. [As is seen in'thedrawings the p'eripheral'or marginal edges of the back andcover are, ineachinstance, spaced forwardly of the main central areas. These edges,particularly at the sides'jof rthe curved. portions l2 and.l1,"1provideabutting surfaces which limit the advance of the cover entirelyindependently of the abutment of the central areas and which would sofunction in the entire absence of abutting contact of said centralareas.

A picture frame unit constructed in accordance with the presentinvention can be suspended on the wall, or may be positioned on asupporting surface. To make the latter possible a supporting leg 2| isprovided, the upperend of which is bifurcated and extends at the sidesof a" fixed block 22 on the face of the back I l. The upper extremitiesof the leg 2| are 7 cut at an angle, as indicated at 23, and thepivwhich it is mounted on the block 22 is limited to a suitable angle inwhich the frame tilts rearwardly slightly, as illustrated in Figures 2and 3.

The assembly of the picture frame unit constructed in accordance withthe present invention is believed to be clear from the foregoing. Itbeing desired toplace a picture in the unit, the transparent front plateI6 is removed by pulling outwardly at the side or'sides at which therounded portions I! .are displaceable from the overlapping curvedportions [2 of the back by a slight deflection. With the transparentplate removed thepicture l 4 is then positioned. As stated, if its sizebe aboutthat indicated in Figure l the rounded portions l2 of the backwill perform a centering function. v Otherwise it would be desirable toturn the back to a horizontal position with the picture on the top. IThe transparent plate member 16 is then positioned in its securedrelationship to the plate by angularly advancing it so that thoserounded portions ll having the greatest included angle extend under theoverlying curved portions 12. The remaining curved portions I! are thenforced inwardly by a slight pressure so that they are'deflected past andslightly under the overlying locking portion or portions I2 to beretaineduntil intentionally removed.

While the particular construction herein shown and described in detailis fully capable of attaining' the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended "claims.

I claim: i v p l. Ina picture frame, a semi-rigid plate-like back formedon'its front face at spaced points around its marginal edge withintegral forwardly'and inwardly extending rounded portions substantiallyrigid in opposition to a displacing force normal to the plane of saidback and of limited flexibility in opposition to a lateral displacingforce, and a transparent semi-rigid plate-like picture-retaining memberoverlying the central portion of said back and formed around itsmarginal edge with integral forwardly and inwardly extending roundedportions spaced and positioned as to lie adjacent said rounded portionson said back, said rounded portions on said picture-retaining memberbeing rigid in opposition to a displacing force normal to the plane ofsaid memberand of limited flexibility in opposition to a l'ateraldisplacing force, at least a pair of theroundedportions of said backengaging the rounded portions of said picture-retaining member to retainsaidmember against said back, the outer surface'of at least one of saidrounded portionsbeing contoured as to exert a lateral displacing forceupon the adjacent rounded portion of 5 said back upon saidpicture-retaining member being moved toward or from contact with thefront face of said back.

2. The construction recited in claim 1 characterized in that pairs ofadjacent rounded portions on said back and on said picture-retainingmember are arranged upon opposite sides of said back andpicture-retaining member.

3. The construction recited in claim 1 characterized in that the outersurfaces of a pair of said rounded portions on opposite sides of saidpicture-retaining member are contoured as to exert a lateral displacingforce upon the adjacent rounded portionsof said back upon saidpictureretaining member being moved toward or from contact with saidback.

LA VERNE J. WINSLOW.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number 15 Number UNITED STATES PATENTS France Feb. 18, 1935

